A PUBLIC debate was held in Great Malvern to discuss the future of the NHS.
Organised by the Malvern Hills Green Party, the meeting at Lyttelton Well saw about 40 people attend the Church Street site to talk about clinical care, mental health, the integration and local control of health and social care and privatisation of the service.
Coun Julian Roskams, Green Party Parliamentary candidate for West Worcestershire, said: “The NHS is one of the most efficient in the world but now every area of healthcare is open to the private sector whose primary motivation is extracting profit from NHS services by reducing staffing levels that could compromise safety and quality.
“We must ensure our public NHS survives so everyone is treated equally according to need, rather than their ability to pay.”
The panel of speakers at the debate included Dr Jonathan Leach from the Royal College of General Practitioners, Glyn Coventry of Positive Thoughts, Prof Joel Talcott from the school of life and health sciences at Aston University and Coun Roskams.
Dr John Blewitt, event organiser and chairman of Malvern Hills Green Party, added: “The debate was lively and good-natured and demonstrated the importance of local public participation and democratic deliberation on the NHS’s future in our community.”
